A Memorable Day
by slasheddream
Summary: George can still clearly remember their sorting


Something I just had to get out after reading the seventh book. It was written some time ago, but I didn't get around to editing it XD Obviously this story contains spoilers for the seventh book. I'm also not a native speaker so this might contain some errors. If you spot any, I'd be glad if you pointed them out to me. 

**A Memorable Day**

It was something he had not seen in quite a long time, yet, there was nothing unusual about it, nothing seemed to have changed. The red Hogwart's Express standing tall and proud before them looking not a day older than when he had first boarded it, the bustling crowd on the platform, parents hugging and lecturing their children everywhere you looked; platform 9 3/4 was as lively as ever.

It was all so familiar that it almost made George think that, if he just closed his eyes for a second, he could be back in his own Hogwarts Days, just waiting for their mother to stop lecturing them so they could board the train and be on their way to a new schoolyear full of pranks and laughter and just generally /them/.

As it was however, he knew that those days were never going to come back and that the only Fred in his life now was the small boy, who stood right in front of him, looking up at his father while tapping one foot quite impatiently on the ground. George gave him a questioning look.

"Everyone else is already on the train. Hurry up", the kid said exaggerating as usual.

"Yah, sure", George mumbled distractedly as he walked alongside his son to one of the still opened train doors."You sure are happy to get away from home", he added teasingly.

"I'll miss the joke shop though", said the boy after stopping for a minute to contemplate the question. Then he stepped onto the train waiting for his father to help him with the luggage.

"If the weight of this thing is any indication, you got at least half of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes in there", George said pretty sure that the little one had helped himself to whatever he could fit into his trunk in the morning before they'd left. Somehow he didn't care though.

"I'll put it to good use", his son said simply and George had no doubt that he would.

With that the boy vanished into the train and George was left waiting to see in which of the windows the familiar head would reappear. In the meantime he scanned the platform again for other familiar faces and was kind of relieved when he couldn't find any. He hadn't wanted to come here. Actually he hadn't even wanted a son. Little Fred had been the result of his friend Lee's brilliant idea to get out and 'have a little fun' and too much firewhiskey.

Up to this day George hadn't sorted out how exactly he felt about it all. Everything was more complicated than it used to be and he didn't care as much either. Things happened. He just played his part accordingly without ever putting his heart into it. He only had half of his heart left anyway, and what good could that be for anyone or anything?

Finally he saw the trademark Weasley red hair being poked out of a window to his left and he wandered over there to bid his son farewell.

"Don't worry about the sorting", George said.

"Why would I? I know I'm going to be a Gryffindor, the whole bloody family is."

George frowned at that. It was eerie how much little Fred acted like his namesake sometimes. To his father it was more of a painful reminder of what was lost than anything to be happy about, though...since there was clearly nothing that could ever replace his twin.

In fact, he couldn't help but think back to his own first trip to hogwarts now. The train, the platform and the people around him became fuzzy, vanished and then he could see himself and Fred, eleven years old and almost innocent, in a boat. Above them the stairy night sky and below them the Hogwart's lake - and someone in that lake.

_The twins really hadn't meant it when they began shaking the boat a bit, it was just fun really. Could anyone truly claim it was their fault when this stupid other kid, a girl, had to stand up, glare at them for a second and then, before she could say anything, toppled over and fell right into the lake? Surely not._

"D'you reckon the lake's deep?", said George slowly, looking down into somewhat scary blackness.

But Fred didn't answer, he had spotted something in the lake and was now pointing at it with his finger. "Look" he said all excited suddenly. Tentatively George leaned a bit farther over the edge of the small boat and, sure enough, something was moving underneath the lake's surface. He couldn't tell what it was, but it was giant!

Then under the watchfull wide eyes of the Weasley twins something large rose up from under the surface and threw a shrieking girl back into their boat in one swift movement.

Without even taking a look at the soaking girl and ignoring her screaming of "Look at me! I'm drenched! It's ALL YOUR FAULT!" Fred stared in awe at the spot where the large wet thingy had disappeared back into the water.

"I bet that was the giant squid Charlie talked about!", he finally exclaimed.

"Go take a closer look, why don't you?", the unknown girl said from behind the twins, obviously still angry at them. She was clearly surprised though, when the twins actually took her seriously.

Later, standing soaking wet among the other first years in front of McGonagall, the two of them were quite sure that they had to be making a great first impression on the professor. Especially when her eyes lingered on the twins just a moment longer than was necessary while she was talking about house points and how they could also be deducted for inapropiate behavior. Obviously she didn't think that jumping into a lake was apropiate. Fred and George didn't mind though and just grinned right back at her from under still dripping wet red hair.

Eventually they were led into the great hall. As always the enchanted ceiling was the first thing that caught the interest of the first years. Fred and George however had already heard that it would look just like the sky, so they didn't waste too much time on it.

Instead, George scanned the house tables where all the older students had already taken seat. Most of them were whispering among themselves, some occassionally pointed at one of the first years. Finally, George could make out their older brother Charlie and a few seats away their other brother and annoying git Percy. Percy ignored the twins, but Charlie waved shortly when he noticed George was looking his way. 

George just grinned at him as Charlie's face took on a look of puzzlement, probably because the twins were dripping wet while it wasn't raining outside.

Fred and George both looked ahead as the crowd of first years in front and behind of them came to a halt a few metres in front of the teacher's table where a stool with a worn old hat on top of it was placed. It didn't look very spectacular, it didn't have a nice singing voice either and yet George suddenly began to feel a bit nervous about this whole sorting business.

„This is taking too long", Fred complained quietly after the hat had ended his song and McGonagall started calling on students alphabetically. „I bet we're the last on that list."

„Uh...yeah. But we're going to be Gryffindors anyway." Were they really? George shoved that doubt aside.

„Sure", Fred said and sounded every bit as certain as his brother wanted to be.

Professor McGonagall was approaching the letter L now. The students in front of them slowly cleared away. It was making the younger twin nervous, but he was carefull to keep a blank face as he watched the proceedings. After all, he didn't want to riddicule himself when there were three of his brothers present.

„What is it?", Fred said suddenly.

It was really too bad one of those brothers always knew what was going on with him.

„Nothing?" George tried anyway. Fred's response was to roll his eyes at him. 

„I was just thinking..." He hesitated, but his brother edged him on with a curious look. „What if that hat decides to...put us in different houses...?"

Fred shot him an incredulous look for that. „Don't be riddiculous!", he snapped. Then he pointedly looked away from George just as Professor McGonagall called out a P-Name.

„Sorry", George muttered and neither of them said a thing while they watched three more students get sorted.

Then the younger twin's face took on a look of surprise as suddenly he felt Fred taking his hand in his own. He glanced at his brother but the older twin just kept watching the sorting ceremony with a solemn look on his face and didn't give any sign that he aknowledged George looking at him. The younger squeezed the hand holding his and followed the example.

There were very few students left before them now.

„Don't worry", Fred said finally – right before letting go of George's hand and heading up to the sorting hat. George had to smile when he realised Fred was probably the only student to walk up to the hat with a glare that clearly said „Don't you dare mess with me". It was a bit scary to think that in that moment he reminded him a little of their mother.

After a few tensed moments the hat called out GRYFFINDOR and slowly Fred took the hat off, gave it one last reproachful glance, then caught George's gaze and grinned shortly at him before walking down to his new house table where the other house members were already congratulating him.

George swallowed as he knew it was his turn now and sure enough as soon as Fred had sat down, „Weasley, George", was the next name McGonagal anounced. The boy gathered his courage and at least pretended to have the same determination as Fred had displayed when he walked up to the hat and sat down on the stool.

When the brim of the hat fell over his eyes he could hear a voice resounding inside his head.

„Another Weasley, eh? Twins then...but you're not the same...now, where to put you..."

Gryffindor! George shouted in his thoughts.

„Ah yes. Do you know...your brother threatened me to put you there...said I'd regret it if I didn't" The hat seemed to chuckle at this. If it was odd to hear a voice in your head, it was even odeer to hear it chuckle, George thought distractedly and not at all surprised at Fred's action.

„We'd prank you into oblivion", George said in his thoughts. Though he wasn't entirely sure yet if it was even possible to prank a hat, but if there was a way, they would find it.

The sorting hat seemed to laugh even harder at this. „I think you'll make a fine Gryffindor." The last word was shouted out aloud.

A big weight lifted off George's chest and happily he pulled the old piece of cloth off his head and ran to the Gryffindor table to sit down next to his twin while his new fellow house members cheered around him.

Fred grinned at him then and said with great confidence: „See? We'll always be together."

George never forgot those words, took them as a promise and his twin for granted.

„Damn, I miss you, Fred", George muttered...not for the first time in his life.

„Snap out of it, Dad. I'm not even gone, yet", his son said in an annoyed voice.

„Uh...yes", George said intelligently and reached up to ruffle the young one's red hair a bit. „I was going to say I will miss you of course."

The boy looked at him doubtfully for a minute, then all the train doors slowly closed indicating the soon departing of the Hogwarts Expressed and he uttered a quick „Yeah, I'll miss you too...I think."

George nodded and stepped back from the train that was now slowly leaving the platform.

„Bye, Dad", his son said waving a little.

„Goodbye", said Goerge watching the train leave. „Send me a Hogwart's toilet seat!", he shouted shortly before it was completely gone.

After the Hogwarts Express had vanished from sight Geroge quickly left the platform. Wary not to run into Ron, Harry and Hermione, who he'd spotted on the other side of it.

He didn't feel like he'd fit into their happy ending after all. 


End file.
